Will Preach For Food Podcast

Room at the Table (Luke 14)

August 27, 2022 Doug Season 3 Episode 24
Will Preach For Food Podcast
Room at the Table (Luke 14)
Show Notes Transcript

The primary image for today’s message is that of a banquet, of a big table with lots and lots of people and a table with lots and lots of free food. Think about the biggest feast you’ve ever attended. Jesus says that the kingdom of God is like THAT, and that there is a place for YOU at the table. Let’s look at what it means to be a GUEST at God’s table, then what it looks like to faithfully HOST God’s table. Today’s word of God has application for our shared worship and our shared spaces. And this podcast will end with an invitation for you to come to the table of the Lord. Just as you are. 

Let’s start with a reading from the gospel of Luke 14:12-24.

Luke 14:12-24

12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

22 “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’

23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

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Room at the Table (Luke 14)

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. Faith is a welcoming community: growing closer to and more like Jesus; making Christ known; joyfully serving each other, our neighbors, and all God’s creation. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. Thanks for listening today. 

The primary image for today’s message is that of a banquet, of a big table with lots and lots of people and a table with lots and lots of free food. Think about the biggest feast you’ve ever attended. Jesus says that the kingdom of God is like THAT, and that there is a place for YOU at the table. Let’s look at what it means to be a GUEST at God’s table, then what it looks like to faithfully HOST God’s table. Today’s word of God has application for our shared worship and our shared spaces. And this podcast will end with an invitation for you to come to the table of the Lord. Just as you are. 

Let’s start with a reading from the gospel of Luke 14:12-24.

Luke 14:12-24

12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

22 “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’

23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

Here ends the reading.

The Wedding Banquet

What is the best, biggest, fanciest banquet you’ve ever attended? Was it a wedding? Were you a guest or did you foot the bill as host? 

Over the years I have officiated a number of weddings and been invited to the receptions afterward. The problem there is that it has almost always been on a Saturday night, and I’ve needed to get home a reasonable hour because I had to go to work the next morning! Sigh. There was this one reception held on the top floor of the Columbia Tower in Seattle—and we had to leave early. Even this weekend we are going/went to a family wedding reception in Eugene and we have to/had to come home early. 

Our own wedding day, July 15, 1989, the ladies at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Silverton, Oregon, served up sandwiches, salads, cake, punch and coffee for all 300 or so guests. The only hitch for us was that, by the time we were done in the receiving line, the ladies had already boxed up the leftovers and sent it off to the soup kitchen in town. We never got to eat any of the food at our own wedding!

The kingdom of God is like a wedding banquet, Jesus says. God is the host, and everyone of us is a guest at God’s table. Not one of us somehow “deserves” an invitation. Not one of us has earned a ticket to the banquet hall. It is a gift, a free gift, with no strings attached. It is a handout. The invitation to feast in the presence of God is based on God’s grace, not our merit. Doesn’t matter who you are, what you’ve done, what you’ve seen, mistakes you’ve made, or even accomplishments on your mantle. The only thing necessary is to RECEIVE the gift of God and show up at the party. “Blessed is the one who eats at the banquet of the kingdom of God!”

I Cannot Come to the Banquet

You’d think this wouldn’t be such a problem, but it turns out that humans have a tendency to resist, reject, and resent the grace of God. That’s what the parable talks about. A generous Father throws a wedding banquet, and one by one, the guests decline the invitation. I grew up with this parable as a song: 

I cannot come to the banquet, don’t trouble me now; I have married a wife, I have bought me a cow; I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty sum; pray, hold me excused: I cannot come.

This parable reveals that there is a human tendency to RESIST or even REJECT God’s grace. I mean, the party sounds great, but I’m doing pretty well without God’s handouts. See? I’ve got this smokin’ hot wife, and a brand new Lexus. God can give my seat to someone else—I don’t need God’s charity. I’ll manage on my own, thanks. I want to earn what I have, after all.

There is also a tendency for humans to RESENT expressions of grace and forgiveness toward other, “less deserving” people. In the next chapter of Luke there is a story Jesus tells about an older brother who resents the grace and forgiveness shown by his Father toward his wayward, “prodigal” little brother. He won’t even talk to his little brother, refuses to go to the banquet, and complains to his dad how unfair the Dad is being to HIM by forgiving, enabling his irresponsible little brother.

I mean, take a look at the response to the student loan forgiveness plan announced by President Biden this week. Putting aside whether or not it is sound policy, its long term impact on inflation or the economy, and even whether or not the President is overstepping his authority, I find it interesting that some of the loudest objections have to do with it not being “fair” to the people who never needed a student loan in the first place or to those who managed to pay their loans off. But forgiveness, by definition, is not fair. It’s grace. A free gift. A handout.

And today’s baptism of little five month old Pearl Krumland is another reminder that it is all gift. She didn’t ask for it. She hasn’t earned it, she doesn’t deserve it. There is room at the table Pearl, and for each one of you. Baptism is an invitation to the banquet in the kingdom of God. It is all gift.

From Guest to Host

As Pearl grows, and as each of us come of age in the faith, The Holy Spirit calls and compels us not only to be GUESTS at God’s table, but also to become HOSTS at God’s table. WHEN you give a banquet, Jesus says. When YOU give a banquet…you will be blessed. That is to say, as we mature in faith, as we learn to receive the rhythm of God’s grace, the tables are literally turned, and we become HOSTS at God’s table, with instructions to invite people who don’t usually get invited to parties, people who can’t reciprocate, people who DON’T deserve it, didn’t earn it, and can’t pay you back. Do that, Jesus says, and you’ll be blessed. So, as hosts, we need to learn and embody the GRACE of the Father, the SERVANT NATURE of the Son (Jesus), and the BLESSING of the Holy Spirit. 

The Small Catechism affirms that God the Father preserves us, protects us, and provides us with everything we have and need. “All this God has done out of fatherly and divine goodness and mercy, though I do not deserve it…” The generosity and GRACE of the Father.

And the SERVANT NATURE of Jesus. In John 13, we are told that at the Last Supper, Jesus strips down, grabs a towel and basin of water, kneels down, and goes and washes the feet of every one of his guests. And as he’s throwing the dirty towels in the hamper, this is what he says (John 13:12-17):

“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

And there is that BLESSING of the Holy Spirit again. The Spirit shows up at the intersection of Guest and Host, generosity and service, mercy and goodness, grace and peace, and gives us a taste of the feast that is to come. Blessed are they who eat at the banquet of the kingdom of God! “You will be blessed if you do them…” 

The Blessing Table

So, I want to share a story about a missed blessing from a couple of years ago. It is no one’s fault, and I don’t beat myself up about it, but I remember very much the moment I realized that we had missed out on a blessing. Back in the fall of 2019—remember that far back, pre-COVID? That fall a group of Spanish speaking Seventh Day Adventists had begun using our worship space on Saturday mornings. Over the noon hour, they would prepare a home-cooked Mexican/Guatemalan dinner—beans, fresh tortillas, cabbage salad—the aroma filled the building. Come and eat with us, they would say to me with broken English, a big smile, and a full plate in hand. (Who is the host and who is the guest, after all?)

As December approached, I was told that our women’s group was going to put on an all day Saturday event, and would need the Fellowship Hall and Kitchen. I told the Adventistas, who agreed to move their lunch to the Narthex. Great, I thought, there was plenty of room for everyone—the Adventistas at this end of the building, the women’s luncheon at the other end. No problem.

So, I there at the church and at noon I begin to smell the wonderful beans and tortillas in the Narthex, and I wander down toward the Fellowship Hall. There are wonderful food smells at that end of the building, too. And women are dressed up in all sorts of festive holiday garb from Norway and Sweden and Denmark. I look at the program, and it says: “A Celebration of Christmas around the World.” And the program featured a variety of ethnic foods and clothing and holiday traditions. And I realize that a few steps down our own hallway there is an entire community from Central America enjoying their own foods and holiday traditions. What kind of a blessing might have been experienced if we had managed to bring our two celebrations together?

Room for Faith

That’s what Jesus is talking about, I believe. We might have missed a chance back then, but God is never stingy with banquets and blessings. The Adventistas are still here. Faith hosts a preschool, too, you know, plus two community quilting groups. There is Brighter Days, a seniors-with-disabilities daycare program. Faith Acts is now Connection Street Theatre, bringing community theater back to Faith. Now we are proud to add CIELO, a non-profit agency that works with immigrants from Central America helping them transition and thrive here in the greatest nation in the world. 

This building is being used seven days a week. And the goal is not merely to give other groups space to do their thing while we do ours. Rather, the goal is to interact, to learn, to mutually share gifts and ideas. We are all guests, and we are all hosts. Our campus is a banquet hall where there is room at the table for everyone to practice and receive the grace of the Father, the service of the Son, and the blessings of the Spirit. 

Conclusion

The primary image for today’s message is that of a banquet, of a big table with lots and lots of people and a table with lots and lots of free food. Jesus says that the kingdom of God is like THAT, and that there is a place for YOU at the table. May you RECEIVE the free gift of God’s grace today and notice the places and ways that you might be resisting God’s grace or resenting God’s mercy extended to others. Remember that we are all freeloaders.

So, as we worship together, in whatever form or flavor, may we continually approach the table of the Lord as if we were going to our death, so that one day we may go to our death as if we were approaching the table of the Lord. 

And as we grow into our Baptismal calling, may we take on as well the role of HOST: embodying the generosity of the Father, the servant-mindedness of the Son, and recognizing the blessing of the Holy Spirit. 

So that’s what I’ve got for you today. Thanks for listening, folks. Our website is www.faithshelton.org. This podcast is available on most podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple, and Google. Like us, subscribe, donate, or sign-up for our newsletter. Thank you, Chas and Nadia, for your production and tech support for this podcast. I’ll leave you with this benediction, a good word for you and yours for the week to come:

As you go on your way, may Christ go with you; May he go before you to show you the way; May he go beside you to encourage you; Behind you to defend you; Above you to watch over; Within you to give you peace. Amen.